


Dream-Fight-Place-Feeling

by Idishi



Category: Star Wars
Genre: Apparent Nonsense, Gen, Humor, One-Shot, School Requirement, dream - Freeform, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-02
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-24 10:26:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4915972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idishi/pseuds/Idishi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mara's day begins with a Mom who can't cook, a class trip, a teacher who has no idea what she's doing, and-- IS THAT DARTH VADER??</p><p>(The result of a Creative Writing class prompt.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dream-Fight-Place-Feeling

**Author's Note:**

> I took a Creative Writing class in college last year, and one of the random "exercises" was to write a short story (limited word count). 
> 
> The teacher's prompts were: A vivid DREAM, A recent FIGHT with anyone in rl, any PLACE and a recent FEELING, 
> 
> So, please do not expect much from this haha :)

 

             The classroom was all abuzz that day, because the students were looking forward to an outdoor class after lunch. That never happened in the other classes, but then again those other classes didn’t have Ms. Morrison. She was into all sorts of alternative learning, and her students loved it. Mara’s mood slightly lifted and she sat next to Lacy.

             “Hey,” said Lacy, “you look like you’ve swallowed a jagged pill.”

             Mara shook her head. “My lunch was filled with all that fatty stuff I don’t eat anymore. It’s like she doesn’t even listen to me.” The school provided lunches, and pretty healthy ones, too, but they were too expensive for Mara, and her mom thought it was much more fun to prepare her daughter’s meals daily.

             Lacy shrugged. “Oh, I’m sure she just thinks it’s for the best. And at least your food smelled great. Not like everyone else’s boring food. I swear, if I have to eat one more lettuce leaf, I might just become a rabbit.”

             “Hmm...” Mara slumped back in her chair as she recalled that morning.

 

 

She had woken early and was already dressed for school, while her mother zoomed around the kitchen, fixing up her lunch in a hurry. The lady couldn’t cook, but she tried. Curious, Mara peeked into one of the paper bags, and her face fell.

             “Ma,” she lamented, “I thought I told you I couldn’t eat that stuff anymore!”

             Her mother ignored her comment and with a smile, folded another paper bag closed. “Here you go, honey,” she said brightly, “you need all the nutritious meals you can get, and frankly you can’t get them unless I make them for you.”

             “That is sooo not nutritious,” Mara said, “I need to lose weight for the dance!”              “You’re too skinny,” her mom pointed out, “you need real food to fill you up better.”

             “Haven’t you seen those new healthy cooking shows on TV?” Mara asked, exasperated. “Why can’t you be that kind of cook, and not give me this shortcut stuff?”

             “Oh honey, don’t worry. The cans said it’s healthy enough, and I added a bit more butter so it would taste better. Wait till you try it!”

             “Mom. Seriously. We’re eating out of cans, and you pretend like you know what you’re doing.”

             Mara’s mom looked her in the eye with a stern look. “I do my best making these amazing meals for you, so you are going to take them, eat them and like them.”

             “Arrrghhhh!” Mara knew she had zero chances of making her mom see reason, so she just grumbled for the rest of the morning and left with a generally dejected mood.

 

 

             The school bell rang, pulling Mara out of her reverie. Ms. Morrison signaled them to line up, and as a group they walked to the Sunken Garden.

             It was an area just outside the school walls, a shallow bowl covered in tufty grass and noble-looking trees. Rumor had it that the bowl actually sank deeper and deeper over time, and it was always common to overhear older people talk about a time the Garden used to be flat. Ms. Morrison herded the class onto the center of the Garden, just under a patch of open sky.

             “Just relax and wait for a moment, children,” the teacher announced. The students whispered excitedly, not sure what lesson they were going to have that morning. Lacy mindlessly watched the birds flitting in and out of view above them, while Mara leaned on a tree and closed her eyes.

             Lucy gasped quite suddenly, and Mara opened her eyes at the sound. Looking to where Lacy was pointing, she saw.. _something_ … flying in from the sky and hovering almost above them. The other students were a mixture of excitement and anxiety, as they were sure this was what their lesson was about, but had no idea what to expect.

             There was a cloud of red smoke that billowed from the hovering… _thing_ … and engulfed everyone. Ms. Morrison gave a noncommittal nod and breathed in deeply, then urged the others to do the same.

             Mara tried, but gave an involuntary gasp as she choked slightly on the smoke. Feeling her eyes tearing a bit, she turned to give Lacy a look, but saw that her friend was drinking in the smoke quite easily. Mara nudged her, intending to ask how she was breathing so easily, but Lacy shrugged her off and continued to breathe deeply.

           “Psst!” Mara tried to get her friend’s attention, but she was too preoccupied. Instead, she turned to her other friend, Robert, and tugged at his jacket.

           “Mmmm?” Robert mumbled, clearly giving his concentration to the red mist around them. Mara started to panic – if she couldn’t get over this smoke, would she miss the rest of the activity?

           Suddenly a voice spoke, with an echo that reverberated from every direction. _Very good,_ it said, _well done, Ms. Morrison._

           Mara looked wildly around, but to her surprise, no one else seemed to be perturbed. In fact, they all seemed to be mildly ecstatic. She looked back up to the hovering shadow.

           _Now everyone,_ said the mysterious voice, _fall back in line and await my descent._ As one, the class moved fluidly and arranged themselves into two rows, with an aisle in between, There was a blast of light, and a figure materialized in their midst.

           Mara narrowed her eyes to see through the smoke. The figure, she observed, was heavily shrouded in black, with an even darker helmet that covered his face. As he spoke, each phrase was punctuated by his breathing apparatus. Calmly, he moved through their lines.

           _You have all been prepared for this,_ he said. _Your institution has been chosen as the starting point of this invasion, and you will like it._ Suddenly he turned towards Mara, and his eyes bore into her soul. _Ahhhh, but someone has escaped the Martian Mist._

           Mara had no idea what was going on, but she was already on the edge of panic. “Who are you!” she demanded, albeit shakily. “What have you done to everyone!”

           The figure made a rasping noise, and Mara realized he was laughing. _I am called Darth Vader, and I have come to take over._ He gestured toward the others. _They have all been put into submission by the Martian Mist, but it seems you have not been affected. I wonder…”_

He pointed towards her, and she felt a force pull her up a few inches above the ground. She struggled while the stranger looked at her curiously.

           _Ahhhh,_ he said, _you have abnormally high levels of monosodium glutamate. Of course. That’s why…but no matter._ He dropped her, and she fell onto her jellied legs. He turned to her classmates and teacher. _Right now you will march back to your institution and release Martian Mist wherever you may. Your diet there has been planned to reduce your immunity to the mist, and soon you will all be in my power._

           “Yes, sir,” everyone chanted.

           _And as for your little friend here,_ he indicated Mara, _She must be fed the right diet until she becomes susceptible to the mist._

           “Yes, sir,” they chorused. Lacy and Robert walked towards her and grabbed her by the arms, restraining her.

           Mara suddenly felt helpless. Surrounded by her hypnotized classmates, she really felt as hopeless as one could get in the middle of such a weird situation. She noticed, however, that her friends held her, but not quite securely. Remembering her old lessons, she swung in place and methodically jabbed her elbows into her friends’ bodies. Immediately, they released her, hands travelling slowly to where she had hit them.

           “Sorry, guys,” she muttered, then looked straight at the figure. He was walking away from her, talking to a glassy-eyed Ms. Morrison. She realized that under the Mist, no one was in complete control of their bodies. They could do things, but the reaction times would be slower than if they were fully conscious. She saw the advantage.

           With a burst of adrenaline, Mara ran towards the man and jumped him.

           _Argggghhhhh!_ He screamed, losing balance and staggering from her sudden attack. He recovered though, and turned to facer her menacingly.

           Mara was prepared, however. Sure, she was a high school junior, but all those years of learning Taekwondo suddenly came into her head. Instinctively, she began attacking the stranger with her own body. Kick after kick came down on him. Her arms and legs had a mind of their own, hitting him with so much force that he seemed to recover his wits and saw her as a threat.

           _You are no match for me, little girl,_ he taunted. He tried to take her in the air as he did before, but she expected this and swerved away just in time to bring down her hand hard to the back of his neck. His helmet came off.

           Mara saw that he was distracted, so she never let him recover. She felt amazing, powerful and unstoppable. They fought hand-to-hand, and even she was surprised at her own skill. Soon, he was out of breath. Without his breathing apparatus, he was beginning to have trouble. It showed on his face, which made Mara even more excited.

           “You have no place here!” she screamed, and gave a quick succession of debilitating kicks, ruthlessly bringing the tall figure down. “Get your ass out of here, and NEVER. COME. BACK!” With each word, Mara hit him especially hard until he was lying on his side, spent.

           _You will pay for this, human,_ he sneered. But then he shimmered and disappeared. The shadow above them shimmered, then melted into nothing. All around her, the class fell to the ground unconscious.

           Mara felt the adrenaline drain from her system, and she too, collapsed into a dreamless sleep.

 

 

 

           She woke up to the sight of her mom bustling about in the hospital room, making a fuss over what she called “stale hospital food” and taking out food containers from her own bag.

           “Mom?” With a start, Mara’s mom realized her daughter was awake, and gave her a big hug.

           “Oh honey!” she cried, “I got a call from the principal that your class ran into an accident, oh I’m so glad you’re safe!”

           Mara looked around and tried to remember. She couldn’t seem to put things into perspective, and it made her head hurt just to try to recall what happened. There was a man.. no there was just Ms. Morrison, and the class, and…she shook her head. “What happened?”            Her mom sat down on her bed. “They told me your class was right in the middle of the Garden when there was a gas leak of some sort. Apparently, the Sunken Garden has been sitting above a gas pocket, and it’s been sinking for years until the gases escaped today. They said the fumes were enough to knock out a grown man, and oh honey…” She gave her daughter another hug. “I brought you food!” She wiped away her tears and started preparing the meal.

           Mara was just as confused as ever. Gas leak? Fumes? She leaned back, tyring to make sense of things. Why was she feeling so happy, so excited and.. she felt ecstatic about something.

           “Here you go, hon!” Her mom shoved a plated filled with all sorts of comfort food. For some reason, the smell made Mara smile.

           “Does this have monosodium glutamate, Mom?” She had no idea where the question came from, but it seemed to matter.

           “I have no idea honey, but it tastes great! Try it! I’ll just go have a word with your doctor.”

           Mara sat back and drank in the flavors in the air. Her mom was right, these foods made her feel better, and at the moment, she was glad not to have to eat rabbit food.

           She took her spoon and dug in.

          

          

 

**Author's Note:**

> PS: Just to clarify:  
> DREAM - One of my most favorite dreams was when I learned that Darth Vader had hypnotized the whole world with some hypnotic red dust. And then took my family under his power. So the two of us had this amazing fight scene and I defeated him. Cue smugness to the people I had saved :)
> 
> FIGHT - I had argued with my own mother earlier that week, about food.
> 
> PLACE: The Sunken Garden, which is located in my campus (University of the Philippines Diliman). It reportedly sinks a couple inches or something every year. People also have a lot of secret sexy times there, apparently lol.
> 
> FEELING: Excited. I forgot why I was excited that week, but it's what I chose to work into the story.


End file.
